Aahana Swrup
Season 2 of Tom Edge’s BBC crime drama show brings another thrilling tale about a complicated police investigation within the country’s armed forces led by DCI Amy Silva and her partner Kirsten Longacre. After her underwaters misadventures, Amy finds herself taking on a case investigating a seemingly inexplicable drone weapon demonstration gone rogue that cost multiple people their lives. As international relations between the UK and Wudyan, a lucrative Middle Eastern country, come under fire, Amy must navigate foreign politics in a country brewing with rebellion to uncover the grand conspiracy revolving around the Air Force.
With its sophomore season, the show finds its central characters, Amy and Kirsten, starting a new chapter of their lives in the middle of their demanding jobs. As such, with alternating perspectives between Scotland and Wudyan, Amy’s latest case unravels, bringing new revelations, conspiracies, and dangers. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Vigil Season 2 Recap
In the Air Weapons Range at Dundair, Scotland, Air Vice Marshal Marcus Grainger showcases his military’s brand-new R-PAS technology, a battle-ready remotely controlled drone. However, during the demonstration, one of the drones goes rogue and opens fire at military soldiers before setting its sights on political dignitaries, resulting in the death of multiple individuals. Consequently, DCI Amy Silva enters the scene as the lead investigator specifically requested for the case.
Initially, the military apprehend Colin Dixon, the soldier who was supposed to be controlling the murderous drone. Nevertheless, it becomes evident that the man hadn’t done anything wrong. The technology behind the weapon allowed anyone logged into the system to take over drones on autopilot. As such, the entire squadron behind the demonstration comes under questioning. Meanwhile, Derek McCabe from Alban-x, the manufacturer behind the drones, remains insistent in wiping their hand off the ordeal.
The UK Air Force employed Alban-X’s product to strengthen their partnership with Wudyan, a country that the former is aiding through Squadron 109, a joint operation to manage rebellious uprisings and unfriendly neighboring relations. Nonetheless, the latest snag in their plan could potentially cost them valuable influence.
The discovery of a self-proclaimed human rights activist, Firas Zaman, near the air base’s premises hints at the possible involvement of a political group, Jabhat Al Huriya, labeled a terrorist organization by Wudyan. Meanwhile, Amy learns that the R-PAS system suggests Squadron 109’s former wing commander, Anthony Chapman, used his account to log into the system and take over the autopiloted drone. However, things get complicated when someone takes out a targeted hit on Chapman, intending to kill his daughter, Sabiha, too.
As a result, Amy leaves for Wudyan while a pregnant Kirsten runs the investigation in Scotland with her newly assigned MI5 partner, Daniel Ramsay. In her investigation, Amy learns that someone groomed Sabiha Chapman to steal the base’s backup console and deliver it to the people behind the attack. Early on, one Callum Barker draws Amy’s attention. Yet, Callum denies any ties to any terrorist organization. Furthermore, Amy’s suspicions turn out to be false once she learns that his suspicious behavior is actually a result of his covert romantic relationship with squadmate Sam Kader. Due to homophobic laws, the couple had to sneak around and keep their queer relationship a secret.
Still, despite Callum’s innocence, Amy realizes Sam may still be related to the crime when she learns about his possible connections to Jabhat Al Huriya. In tracking the man, Amy and Eliza end up hostages to the terrorist group, who hold them captive. In the meantime, Sam breaks into the base’s armory to gain access to sensitive information. While held hostage under unpleasant circumstances, Amy realizes that the Jabhat Al Huriya barely has the base of operations befit a terrorist organization.
Therefore, Amy is compelled to believe their leader when he claims that the group is simply collecting evidence of the UK’s violence against Wudyani citizens through their partnership with their government. Thus, although Kirsten’s intel helps Grainger execute a rescue attack at the safe house, the experience shifts Amy’s perception. Meanwhile, Sam gets arrested but passes his findings to now-ex Callum, who remains torn up about Sam’s involvement with the Jabhat Al Huriya.
Nevertheless, Callum shares the information, a USB stick, with Amy. The stick contains live footage from the murderous drone, showcasing how it intentionally misfired, choosing to kill soldiers rather than the top brass. As a result, the duo realizes that a terrorist organization couldn’t have been behind the attack. Instead, it’s likely that someone on the inside controlled the drone.
Vigil Season 2 Ending: Who Orchestrated the Dundair Attack and Why?
The Dundair Attack, wherein an outside party took hold of a dangerous armed drone to open fire at a military session, remains at the center of this season’s conflict. At first glance, the perpetrators seem almost obvious. Since the drones kept logs of people’s presence in the shared server, it’s easy to figure out that the culprit used Anthony Chapman’s account to control the drone. Nevertheless, after Chapman’s assassination, it also became clear that someone else had accessed his account during the attack.
Yet, Chapman’s suspicious actions— fleeing from the military with a fake cancerous emergency, hardly paint an innocent picture of the man. Eventually, Amy realizes that Chapman’s daughter was manipulated into providing the perpetrators with the console they need to control the drone alongside details about her dad’s account. Therefore, after the military discovers the console at the Jabhat Al Huriya safe house during a post-rescue mission live raid, the conclusions draw themselves.
The military consistently labels Jabhat Al Huriya as a terrorist organization. Thus, it’s easy for them to believe they had co-opted the drone and unleashed mayhem as an opposition to the ruling government. Nevertheless, the evidence that Sam risks his life to retreat and leave with Callum reveals that his organization definitely wasn’t behind the attack. As such, even though Amy has the opportunity to return to her family in the UK, she decides to see the case through.
Going against Bilali’s wishes, Amy tracks down Wes Harper, Alban-X’s representative at the base, who has had access to these files all along. After a violent altercation, wherein a hitman tries to come after Wes, Amy realizes that the man is a witness rather than a suspect. After noticing the discrepancy between the military’s stance and the drone recording, Wes attempted to extort money out of the real perpetrators. Therefore, according to Kirsten’s intel, they can use his crypto history to track down his employer.
For the same reason, Amy decides to break protocol and take Wes with her on her military flight to the UK, a quest in which Eliza aids her. Nevertheless, during the flight, Eliza ends up shooting Wes, allegedly in self-defense. Yet, Amy sees through the woman’s lies and arrests her after landing in the country. Meanwhile, Kirsten risks her life to uncover Alban-X’s McCabe’s involvement in Chapman’s murder.
Although MI5 attempts to interfere in the investigation, Amy manages to bring Eliza into custody and question her motives. In turn, Eliza caught red-handed about her involvement with Sabiha and her father, has no choice but to confess. Still, even though she maintains she did it for a paycheck from Alban-X, Amy is reluctant to believe her.
Alban-X’s stocks skyrocketed after the Dundair attack since it compelled Wudyan to call for increased weaponry to suppress the “terrorist” activity within their country. Eliza claims that she carried out her actions in the name of the greater good since Alban-X’s increased weapons demands, which also serves the nation’s best interests.
Nonetheless, Amy remains confident that Eliza was working with an accomplice due to the intel that Kirsten collected. As a result, she enters an unlikely partnership with Ramsay, who looks into classified MI5 files for her. Even though the actions put the pair on the wanted list, it also leads to the full conclusive truth. As it would turn out, Eliza has been working with Grainger this entire time.
Grainger, the Air Vice Marshal, believes that supplying military aid to the Wudyans is essential for the country’s economy. Therefore, he orchestrated the Dundair attack to ensure that the country’s demands for the UK’s violent aid increased in an effort to suppress their inner rebellions. Ultimately, Grainger remains unsympathetic to the Wudyanis’ struggle for freedom against the tyrannical regime and only cares about the profit that the taut political situation can make.
Therefore, Grainger equipped Eliza’s help, who holds the same beliefs as him, to orchestrate the entire conspiracy. Furthermore, he successfully pinned the blame on the Jabhat Al Huriya by planting fake evidence and corralling biased opinions. In the end, Grainger and Eliza receive their reckoning through the evidence that Amy, Kirsten, and Ramsay collect. In a closed trial, the pair receives life sentencing for their crimes.
Does Kirsten Die? What Happens To Her Baby?
With the new season and its new challenges, Kirsten and Amy’s relationship also sees a new path with the couple’s pregnancy. Kirsten remains in the field, assigned to Amy’s team during the later terms of her pregnancy, and refuses to let the same keep her from carrying out her detective duties. Even though Amy is concerned about the stress that the situation can bring her partner, she remains supportive of Kirsten’s decision. Nevertheless, there’s still a part of her that remains protective over her partner.
Kirsten hardly helps the situation by constantly coming under harm’s way over the course of the investigation. Nonetheless, she remains safe, sustaining no outright physical injuries that could threaten her or her baby’s life. However, as the season comes to an end, with Kirsten’s character coming closer to unraveling Alban-X’s involvement in the Dundair attack, the woman takes a bullet to her torso.
As a result, even though Kirsten manages to retrieve crucial information about McCabe’s responsibility for Chapman’s murder, the altercation also leaves her on a hospital bed. Fortunately, the grave injury, which leads to massive blood loss, doesn’t harm Kirsten’s life or pregnancy and only succeeds in confining her to a hospital bed. Although Amy attempts to remain by her bedside, Kirsten convinces her partner to return to her job and see the case through.
In the end, after Amy has successfully collected evidence against Grainger and revealed his conspiracy, she is able to reunite with her girlfriend in peace. Kirsten’s pregnancy remains in the safe zone, with her baby safe and sound. Thus, Kirsten, Amy, and Poppy end the season together, awaiting the arrival of the latest addition to their family.
Is Sam Kader a Terrorist? What Happens to Him?
Unraveling Grainger’s conspiracy remains a heavy ordeal, with the man almost outsmarting the authorities into apprehending the wrong people for his crimes. Even though the murders were committed on UK soil, several Wudyani politicians lost their lives. Therefore, the latter’s government is eager to catch the perpetrators.
For the same reason, it’s easy for Grainger and Eliza to manipulate the Wudyanis and Amy’s investigation into suspecting Jabhat Al Huriya, the government’s existing political enemy. In retaliation, the group only attempts to gather enough evidence to incriminate the UK for the part they played in the loss of Wudyani civilians through military attacks. Sam Kader gets caught in the crossfires while retrieving the same evidence, albeit through Amy and Eliza’s kidnapping.
Nevertheless, despite Sam’s arrest, he manages to get the evidence to Amy through Callum’s help. Once Callum learns about Sam’s affiliation with the Jabhat Al Huriya, his faith wavers in his former boyfriend. Callum and Sam have always had to keep their relationship a secret due to Wudyan’s socio-political environment. Nevertheless, despite the adversities, their love and affection toward one another remained genuine.
For the same reason, Callum doesn’t entirely condemn Sam and decides to help him by sharing his evidence with Amy. In the end, once Grainger’s involvement in the Dundair attacks comes out in the open, it frees up the false charges against Jabhat Al Huriya. Wudyan routinely bombs their own citizens to exercise control over them. As a result, Jabhat Al Huriya fights for their people’s freedom. Thus, the Wudyan government considers the organization to be a terrorist group. Consequently, Sam’s imprisonment perseveres uncontested since the man was evidently a part of the group.
Still, for all that Sam helped Amy with during her investigation, the Detective refuses to leave him without aid. Therefore, she uses her connections to decrease Sam’s sentence to two years of imprisonment in the Wudyani prison. In the end, Sam’s fate remains bittersweet. Even though he ends up in prison, the man will be out in two years, with Callum waiting for him in the outside world.
Read More: Are Vigil’s Amy Silva and Kirsten Longacre Based on Real Police Officers?
